Alaska Airlines Cancels 41 Alaska Flights as Result of Volcanic Ash

via PRNewswire On Aug 11, 2008

SEATTLE, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alaska Airlines announced it has canceled flights to and from Adak, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka, Alaska, late Sunday and early Monday morning. The flights were canceled as a safety precaution related to the pattern of ash at altitude created by the eruption of Kasatochi volcano in the Aleutians Islands last week.

As of midnight Pacific time, 41 flights were canceled, including flights between Alaska and Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. The airline is monitoring the ash pattern on a continuous basis and hopes to resume flights later on Monday.

"We recognize these cancellations will significantly impact our customers intending to travel to or from Alaska," said Glenn Johnson, executive vice president of airports, maintenance and engineering. "These decisions are guided by our commitment to safety, and we are making every effort to re-accommodate passengers whose flight schedules have been disrupted."

Travelers are advised to check the status of flights at alaskaair.com or 800-ALASKAAIR. Specific information about making changes to flight itineraries due to these cancellations is available at www.alaskaair.com.